All Eyes on Lamar, Allen, Burrow (Hour 1)

Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to what is a Thursday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course, streaming live on YouTube. 855212-4227 is the number to jump on in. That's 855212-4227. You could always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexing, or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X, at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We got a whole lot to do today. Jake Butt of the Big Ten Network is going to stop by the former Michigan tight end 40 minutes from now. We will do a full NFL preview for the entirety of the 4 p.m. Eastern Time hour, where I will give you my AFC predictions, my NFC predictions, and then I will tell you who will be playing, or who I think will be playing, in the Super Bowl, and we'll give out our awards as well, and then we'll get you ready for kickoff between the Kansas City, how about those cheese, and the Baltimore Ravens, a rematch of the AFC title game from a year ago, a game that I was at in Baltimore, but this time you will have the BBQ flowing. You will have a lot of people making stops at Jack Stacks, which I absolutely love. One of our sales guys, Adam Shiffrin, is in Kansas City for the game tonight. For Westwood One's production of the opening game of the NFL season between the Chiefs and the Ravens, and I told him, make sure you go to Jack Stacks, and he goes, what do you think? This is my first rodeo? Come on.

He goes to Kansas City all the time. So I will be salivating at the thought, and just dreaming at the thought of burnt ends, ribs, jalapeno cornbread, mac and cheese, and they had some great cupcake there too for dessert. So there's a lot. I actually got a very nice text. We have Nico Yamileva Scarlatos producing today, along with Stuart Kovacs, and I got a very nice text from Stu.

You know, if Santa was here today, he probably wouldn't text me. He would just hoard those sandwiches for himself, but I got a text from Stu, hey, Pat LaFrieda is here, and Pat LaFrieda has brought all these filet mignon sandwiches, and I said to Stu, because Stu was very kind and benevolent, and he goes, do you want me to grab you one? You know how it is here. They bring in steak, and the moment you've put that steak out there, and after talent already gets the food, it is like you had a hungry pack of wolves that have been just roaming, I don't know, the desert for about 10 days, and haven't seen one little morsel of food, because the food is gone in an instant second. I'm going to a Philly-based bar where they're serving cheesesteaks and all that stuff, and I love Pat LaFrieda's, by the way. At Citi Field with the Mets play, they have the filet mignon cheesesteak sandwich, which is 10 out of 10 to die for, and my standards for cheesesteaks are very high, because I lived in Philadelphia for seven years. So I told Stu, as much as this pains me to say it, thanks, but no thanks, and then I get in about an hour later, and they were cut in halves, which is good, and I saw that there was one little half remaining, and I said to Stu, I thought I had the mental toughness not to eat the Pat LaFrieda cheesesteak, but I did have a half of a Pat LaFrieda cheesesteak. So we get things going in the food department.

They will, I guess, make up for the chicken sausage salad that I'm going to have tonight with my feta cheese, and also my tomato with my balsamic vinaigrette dressing. But anywho, we've got a whole lot to do today. Let's get to the breaking news that we have, and it has to do with Russell Wilson. So Russell Wilson back in July, the story goes is this, they were pushing sleds in practice, or maybe it was a workout or something like that. Now, if you're a quarterback, it's the ultimate Russell Wilson tryhard thing where, like, I don't think Tom Brady is pushing a sled, right? Like if you're the quarterback of a team, I don't think Patrick Mahomes is pushing a sled. So this idea that Mahomes, and I don't think it was like how I envisioned pushing a sled, which is okay.

When I was doing two-a-days back for Comac High School, you have the offensive line coach who's trying his best, Bob Wiley impression, and he's standing on there going hut, hut, hut, hut, or hike, hike, you know, just over and over and over again, or push, push, push. And you have all those fat offensive linemen pushing the sled. I don't think it was that. It was probably like a workout sled where you have a weight on it and you're just pushing it. But anywho, he was pushing a sled and he suffered a calf injury.

So that was at the end of July. Then Justin Fields, we thought, closed the gap a little bit on the quarterback competition. But still, you had Russell Wilson be announced as the week one starter where I don't really think anyone won the competition. But it was more so, okay, we have to name a starter.

Neither of these guys really showed us anything. So we'll go with Russ just because he is the proven veteran in the NFL and a guy that's had a borderline Hall of Fame career. He is a nine-time Pro Bowler. So I didn't think much of the calf injury because he missed some time. Then he came back and you didn't think much of it. Well, Ian Rappaport, a few moments ago, put this out.

Something to watch for Sunday. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that quarterback Russell Wilson reported some calf tightness and is going to get checked out by doctors. He was limited in practice. So at first you hear calf tightness and it's like, uh-oh, here we go again. Now, I don't know if it's the same calf that he previously injured because it doesn't say which leg it is on.

But I'm just going to assume and you know what happens when you assume, you sometimes make an ass out of you and me. But I'm going to assume that it's the same calf that he originally injured back in July. Either way, I don't think there is a good chance that Russell Wilson, even if he's not healthy, is going to miss this game on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Because if you miss this game and Justin Fields, who is still an unknown, plays well, good luck getting your job back.

And I know people say, hey, you're not supposed to lose a job when somebody gets hurt. Tell that to Drew Bledsoe. And I'm not telling Russell Wilson and Justin Fields that if Russell Wilson doesn't play this weekend, that Justin Fields is going to become Tom Brady.

But you get the point. The Steelers owe Russell Wilson nothing. The Steelers owe Justin Fields nothing. And Russ has the first opportunity to show that he's going to keep the job inevitably because the offensive line stinks and neither of these quarterbacks are all that good anymore. I'm going to say whoever starts the season, I still fully intend that it's going to be Russell Wilson coming up in a few days on Sunday will not be the starter at the end of the season. And I talked about this when it was announced last week that Russell Wilson won the job coming out of that bye week on November 10th at Washington against the commanders. I do believe that Justin Fields will be taking over the reins of the Steelers offense.

So some discouraging news for the Steelers. But I would really be surprised if Russell Wilson doesn't play on Sunday for two reasons. He was limited in practice. He didn't miss the practice.

He was just limited in practice. And also that calf better be seriously injured to a point where you could barely walk. If you are going to end up missing this game because there's no guarantee that Russell Wilson is the starter in week two if he misses week one, especially if Justin Fields plays well. And this is a tough task early on in the season for the Steelers. I know people would say, oh, it's Atlanta. The division stinks.

I get that. But the Falcons have a kick ass secondary with Jesse Bates. You know, they just signed Justin Simmons from the Denver Broncos, who were somehow a free agent.

They inked A.J. Terrell to that massive deal. So they have serious dudes and serious studs in the secondary. And that team's going to benefit, even though Bill Belichick should be their coach. They're going to benefit from anybody other than Arthur Smith, who's now ironically the Steelers offensive coordinator, running the Atlanta Falcons team because it was football malpractice last year with the way that Arthur Smith ran that Falcons offense, trying to make their quarterback be the guy, you know, the quarterback out of Cincinnati be the guy. And they tried to make him the offense instead of just handing the ball off to Bijan Robinson.

You know what's kind of crazy? The quarterback for the Falcons last year, he was the quarterback at Cincinnati. He was the second quarterback off the board in that draft. I talked about him so much.

You want to know how irrelevant he is right now? I can't even remember his name. That's why I'm calling him the quarterback. Give me the first initial, Stu. D. D? And then give me the last name. No, just like the last initial.

R. I'm blanking on this. I really am. He was so dreadful to watch, and they tried to make him a stud last year in Atlanta, and they didn't get it. Give me the name. Desmond Ritter. Desmond Ritter, that's right. Very forgettable name, Desmond Ritter. Where is Desmond Ritter now? Didn't he just get released? I remember reading something on cut down day. Yes, I believe he got released, and now he's now with the Arizona Cardinals.

Oh, geez. You go from a starting quarterback to then getting released, and then you get picked up? Did he get released from the Cardinals, and is he on the practice squad?

Is that what it was? After the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins, Wikipedia reliable source, Ritter was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for Ron Del Moore. On August 27th, oh my God, Ritter was released by the Cardinals and then resigned to their practice squad the next day. I understand last year there were some dreadful quarterbacks starting. Desmond Ritter goes from starting last year for an NFL team to he couldn't even be a backup. He couldn't even hold the clipboard for Kyler Murray, and now he's a practice squad member of the Arizona Cardinals. I know Desmond Ritter was at Cincinnati when they made the college football playoff, but that is a, and I'm not saying that's like the greatest thing ever, it's pretty damn impressive, but that's a huge, huge fall from grace.

Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. When we get to the game tonight, I think there's a very good chance that the Ravens are going to win the game. And you know what? I probably shouldn't pick against Kansas City because it would be very stupid of me to keep on doubting the Chiefs. And it's not that I doubt the Chiefs, it's just that when they have won back-to-back Super Bowls, it's never been done before where a team has repeated. Now is it possible this year? Absolutely. But do I think it's going to happen? No. But if we are in the Super Bowl in New Orleans, at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and we're there for a Chiefs Super Bowl, and they win again and they have three titles in a row, would I be surprised? Absolutely not. Because the last two years, the Chiefs haven't even played their best, and they were still better than all the rest.

And that's just the reality of the situation. So, yeah, I was an idiot who picked against Kansas City against the Eagles. I was an idiot who picked against Kansas City almost every step of the way in the playoffs last year because they just weren't good in the regular season.

They did what Brady did a few times with the Patriots come postseason time, you just turn it on and boom, away you go. And I thought the 49ers were going to win the Super Bowl last year. But now, when you enter this season, you know, I kind of hate when I make predictions, and I'll spoil part of the AFC preview right now. I hate picking the team that wins the Super Bowl the year before.

I just don't. And I know they've won it the last two years. So I'm not picking Kansas City to win the Super Bowl this year or even get there. With all that being said, can they? Absolutely. I would be a troll or just an idiot, a moron, and a dope if I got on here and screamed, oh, Kansas City will not, they won't win the Super Bowl this year, right?

I'd be a moron. But when you look at the AFC, and I know now we're going to mirror the careers of Mahomes and Brady, and I know that they are different in the start of their careers, but Brady won three Super Bowls in four years right out of the gate. Mahomes already has three championships. And along that way, you deprived other great quarterbacks of winning it all. And eventually those quarterbacks broke through. The most famous in the AFC was Peyton Manning, where Brady, Belichick, Kryptonite, two Peyton Manning when he was in Indianapolis. And eventually, the Patriots, after winning three Super Bowls in four years, championships 36, 38, and 39, they lost to the Broncos in the playoffs. And then the following season, with Doug Gabriel and Reshay Caldwell, the Pats were not only in an AFC championship game, but they had a big lead, a huge lead. Ahsante Samuel had a pick six right before halftime. I had tickets to the Super Bowl as a youngster, and I thought I was going.

My dad was already booking my flight, and we were going to go together on a nice little father-son bonding trip. But then you had the Colts come back, and Peyton Manning, that was really the Super Bowl because two weeks later you're going up against the Bears with Rex Grossman. So you knew whoever was winning that game was going to win the championship. But Manning finally beat Brady when it mattered, and then also raised the Lombardi Trophy. That, to me, is the biggest story of the NFL season this year. Who could be the Peyton Manning? Who's going to be the guy that prevents Patrick Mahomes from winning another championship this season? And I'm not even going to look in the NFC because, hey, the Niners, the Eagles, the Lions, the Rams, the Packers, they're all capable of doing so. But when you look inside the AFC, you have three quarterbacks who've been really close, but yet so far.

And Joe Burrow did beat Mahomes once in an AFC championship game, but then they couldn't find a way to beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. So when I talk about the AFC, and this is not to be disrespectful to the Texans and C.J. Shroud, the resume is not just long enough, even though the Texans are going to be a really damn good team this year. The first three names you'd think of at the quarterback position to be the role of Peyton Manning this year, if Mahomes is Brady, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. And when you ask me who I think is the best quarterback out of those three, I would order them Burrow 1, Allen 2, Lamar 3, and your splitting hairs. Burrow has done it before, but if you're going to say who am I most confident in to get the job done, Lamar, Allen, or Burrow, it would actually be Lamar Jackson. I know you're going to say, but Zach, he just lost to Patrick Mahomes when he didn't even play great in the AFC championship game.

I get that. But Joe Burrow has been hurt way too much. I know Lamar has dealt with some injuries, but we've seen now in four years of Joe Burrow's career, as great as he is, two of them sees an ending injury.

If he's healthy, the answer is Joe Burrow. I just don't know if Joe Burrow and the Bengals are going to be healthy. Josh Allen and the Bills, I think they'll win the AFC East this year. However, with that being said, you look at the Bills, they are projected to take a step back even though I think they're going to be better than what people think. And you look at the Ravens, I have kind of warmed up to the Ravens in the last two weeks. Because, right, they lose that AFC championship game, and I was a big defender of Lamar. Oh, now you'll never believe in Lamar and the Ravens again.

Their defense, even with some of the subtractions this offseason, they're still really good. And then offensively, Lamar, Derrick Henry, you've got Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, that offensive line needs to stay healthy, and you've got a really good coach in John Harbaugh. You know, I look at the AFC and you say, Zach, if you had to make one pick right now, who is the Manning this year? And who is the Peyton Manning this year to try to disrupt the Mahomes, like Brady kind of comparison that we were talking about? It's actually Lamar Jackson. And just like Mahomes, right, or just like Manning, a multiple MVP award winner, and they've all been close. You know, Allen's been close, Burrow has done it once, and Lamar Jackson had an opportunity to do so last year and didn't get the job done. But I'll throw some stock on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens this year to be the team to dethrone the Chiefs, and we get to see a little preview of it tonight. But even if the Ravens win tonight, I'm not going to get on the air tomorrow and be like, oh, I told you so, it's great. Because the Ravens are now kind of like the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo after winning a few MVPs and having success in the regular season, but not having that success in the postseason. Until you win the championship like Giannis did, no one's going to get jacked up and fired up with what you did in the regular season anymore. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. Devante Adams fires back at DeSean Jackson.

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Gambling problem? Call 1-800-426-2537 for help. Paid for by Blitz Studios. Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. You will hear from Devante Adams in just a second. You know, Stu, it's kind of funny because this story isn't that old. Like we played the audio I want to say last week. And it was Deshaun Jackson who was on with Jason McIntyre who was filling in for Colin Coward on FS1.

You know, appropriate credit right there. Some other shows don't do the appropriate credit and McIntyre is Jay Mac, whatever they call him. He is the sidekick for Colin Coward but I guess Colin was out on a little vacation and he had Deshaun Jackson in studio. And Deshaun Jackson said something along the lines of, oh I talked to Devante Adams. Devante Adams isn't happy and like it's only a matter of time that he's going to get traded. I remember talking about this with you that I anticipate that Devante Adams is going to be there through the season with the Raiders. But ultimately because of the lack of good quality quarterback play there, you will ultimately see Devante Adams at the end of the year request a trade. So even though I say that, I don't expect Devante Adams to open up to everybody in front of the media because you could want out and also be a good teammate. And I think he also wants to give Antonio Pierce a full season because they really connected last year. And there's a reason why Antonio Pierce is the head coach is because he won over the locker room and he was 10 times better than Josh McDaniels. But you also have heard from Devante Adams this offseason of, hey, the one thing I haven't done yet is win a Super Bowl.

And that's the last thing I need to complete me. Well, here's a little breaking news. You want my hottest take to kick off the NFL season? The Raiders aren't a Super Bowl contender and they're nowhere close to being a Super Bowl contender. I get it. They got Devante Adams, great player.

I get it. They also have the sensational player of a Max Crosby. They have Christian Wilkins.

Like they have some dudes. They have some really good guys on this team. But with that being said, they're nowhere close to contending. They could be a pain in the ass when you play them because their efforts always going to be there.

But effort only takes you so far. And ultimately, at the end of the year, I can't see that this goes well enough where Devante Adams is saying, yeah, I need to stay with the silver and black. Now, if the Raiders can quickly navigate through that and if they say, hey, Devante, I know you want out.

Give us a month. They go get Dak Prescott. They go draft a Chador Sanders or Carson Beck in the draft.

OK, fine. Maybe that makes Devante Adams say, I want to stay. But you look at the options like Aaron Rodgers or Union is still out there now. I don't I wouldn't be running if I'm Devante Adams back to Aaron Rodgers because you don't know how much longer he's going to play. And then you could be in the same situation where you thought you had a guy with the Raiders with Carr, which gross miscalculation by college buddy of his back at Fresno State. And then you think you have your guy back in Aaron Rodgers.

And it's similar to the end in Green Bay where, you know, OK, that's not going to last that long. You know, I go back to this and I keep on saying this. Devante Adams, who says he can't go home?

I go back to where you start your career. I know right now you're going to say all the right things. You're going to refute the Deshaun Jackson report. And I actually believe Devante Adams will play his audio in just a second. I don't think he's ever talked to Deshaun Jackson about his future.

But what Deshaun Jackson said, I thought was more of an opinion, even though he tried to make it like it was a report. And he was talking to Devante Adams, which is ridiculous and which is an incorrect form to do so if you're Deshaun Jackson. But what Deshaun Jackson is saying, I'm not going to say at the end of the year is ultimately false, because at the end of the year, I fully expect that Devante Adams is going to request a trade. And if he does request a trade, you know, maybe the Raiders find a way to keep him. And you bring in a quarterback, like I just said, Dak or Chador or Carson Beck, whoever it is, you know, can you trade for Kirk Cousins?

But I would really contemplate if I'm Devante Adams saying I want to demand a trade back to the Green Bay Packers. And they got some good wide receivers with Watson and Dobbs and Wicks, but there's no bona fide number one wide receiver. And also, even though Jordan Love has to put it together for a full season, you bring in Dak, there's questions if Dak can win a Super Bowl. You bring in Kirk, you know, Kirk can't win a Super Bowl. You don't know what Chador Sanders and Carson Beck are going to be as pros.

We've seen a lot of good college quarterbacks flop in the NFL. Jordan Love right now looks like the best long term play where Devante Adams could potentially link up. And there's familiarity with the Green Bay Packers organization. I would go back to Green Bay. I would go back to jumping around at Lambeau Field if I was Devante Adams at the end of the season. So before I get Stu's opinion on this, let's listen up to Devante Adams speaking to the media the other day. You almost forgot about this story, but he disputes Deshaun Jackson's claim that he's not happy with the Raiders. The facts are the facts and that is not a fact. I've probably spoken to Deshaun Jackson maybe three or four times in my life and I never had a conversation with him ever.

And I put that on my kids. I've never spoken to him about anything. Only person I really talk to about my feelings in general is my wife probably. And she ain't out there leaking anything and dropping stuff like that in the media. So once again, whatever you see, if it ain't from the horse's mouth, it's probably.

So there you go. That's a pretty defiant denial from Devante Adams. That's he was pretty adamant about that. Now, Stu, I don't think he's talked to Deshaun Jackson about this. I believe in there, but it doesn't mean at the end of the year that he's going to be back with the Raiders and he's going to want to stay with the Raiders.

And that's where even though Devante Adams intentions are right, because you're trying to dispute this story and dispel this story. It's kind of almost like Nick Saban when he was with the Dolphins. Yeah, I'm not going to be the coach of Alabama.

All right. We all know when eventually it's time to be the coach of Alabama. You were leaving the NFL for Alabama. This is what Devante Adams is going through.

He's trying to be a good teammate, trying to be a good dude because he likes a lot of the guys in the locker room. You know, I'm going to be here. I'm not thinking about leaving the Raiders. We all saw a wide receiver where, yes, McDaniel's no longer there. Jimmy G's no longer your quarterback. But he was visibly frustrated with the state of this team and even himself said, I'm going to get killed.

I got to get off on out of here. I know you have a new quarterback and Jimmy G stunk. But it's not like bringing in Gardner Minshew or Aiden O'Connell is this massive upgrade.

Last time I checked, Gardner Minshew is in Patrick Mahomes. All right. So I do think at the end of the year, Devante Adams going, going, going, gone. Yeah, I'm with you. I don't believe him.

I just I just think there's too much fuel there where, you know, like you said, the documentary kind of brought that up. He's made comments in the past. And look, I do credit him for not at this point saying trade me like he's at least trying to see it out. See what happens early in the season.

I can even see a deadline move possible as well. Really? I think it's just tough in season. It is.

And I know he makes close to 30 million dollars. So that does make it more difficult. But I mean, if this team is, you know, like two and seven, why not? Like at that point there, because that's going to be through nine weeks of when the trade deadline is this year.

So they could easily be three and six, two and seven. If they're at that point. I mean, sure. Maybe you hold on for the chance to play with a Dak Prescott or something. But even if it's a rookie, even if it's a door or Carson Beck, let's just say, why does he want to hang around for that? I'd rather, like you said, play with Jordan Love, play with Aaron Rodgers for one more year or go somewhere else where he can at least compete for a Super Bowl before he really starts to fall off.

Jordan Love, I would go to second back to Green Bay to just go reconnect with Aaron Rodgers. Let's say they drafted your Doris Sanders. I personally would rather stay with the Raiders, even though you'd be competing for a year. It's just the long term play.

Yes, we don't know if she Doris Sanders is going to be good. I do think he would still leave. But Aaron Rodgers, you're going to the Jets and then he has one year left.

You know, here's the thing. When is his contract up? Because with that being said, if we want to actually throw some substance behind this, if let's say it lines up with when Rodgers is going to retire anyway, he's under contract through 2026.

So, okay. You know, you play this year out with the Raiders. Then next year, if you go back to New York, you reconnect with Rodgers. And then you only got one year left in your deal. So if Rodgers leaves the Jets and you want to go somewhere else, it's easier to move that deal with one year remaining. And the dead cap then, you know, it's for the Raiders anyway, but 7.8. So there's not like there's like a ton of guaranteed money left on the team that's, you know, acquiring the contract of Devonta Adams anyway.

It is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. If you had to guess right now, where's Devonta Adams next year? Stu, I feel like you're going to say the Jets, right? I'm going to say the Jets, yeah. Packers is the right move, but Jets, I think. I'm going to say the Packers. That's what I'm going to roll with.

Alrighty, 855212, 4227, 855212, 4227. It is the Zach Gelb show. We will come on back. We'll do a little Big Ten talk with the big weekend of Big Ten football. Jake Butt, the former Michigan tight end. And now Big Ten Network analysts will join us on the other side. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. This portion of the show is sponsored by Hyundai's bold family of EVs that bring a new kind of energy to your journey.

The Onik 5 and the 5N Ionic 6 and Kona Electric, the most electric EV lineup. Let's welcome in to talk a little Big Ten football. The former tight end at Michigan now does a great job as an analyst for the Big Ten Network. And that's our buddy, Jake Butt. Jake, appreciate the time.

Thanks so much for doing this. And how are you? I'm doing great, man. I mean, gosh, what an opening weekend. And now we got the banger, Texas, Michigan at noon on Saturday. No looking back now, man. NFL tonight, we're in the thick of football season.

Yeah, I'll get to Texas and your alma mater, Michigan, in just a bit. But I got to start things off with Dylan Riola. I know it's only one game. You get the comparisons to Mahomes. But there were some throws in that game where I was like, hold on, wait a second. Am I watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes?

Very impressive performance by Riola. I'm not ready to call him Patrick Mahomes. But when he stepped up in the pocket and ripped it sidearmed, it looked like Pat Mahomes.

Maybe Matt Stafford. So, look, you can still look at cues, right? Like you can look back to the spring game. You can look back at the headlines throughout camp and say, this guy isn't presenting like a freshman. You know, his uncle is the offensive line coach.

His dad played it in a breath. Like he grew up understanding what's required to be elite college football player. And that's basically what he showed week one.

And I understand the opponent, but a lot of his game translates. What I really like to see was his poise at the line of scrimmage multiple times. Was he checking plays at the line of scrimmage? There was a few times where he checked a play and then checked into another play when the defense countered. Like the game looks slowed down to him and clearly he has all the talent in the world. If he can anticipate what the defense is presenting, he has the ability to put the ball exactly where he wants it to be. Once again, it's only one game.

They have a huge test coming up on Saturday night. But so far, Jake, he doesn't look like a freshman. And that's the best thing you could say about him so far. Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, really in this game, it's, it's about more than just him because, you know, you're playing Chador Sanders, who may be the best quarterback in college football right now.

He's loaded. And the story last year was the turnovers, which has been the story for Nebraska for forever. They shot, they won the battle in the trenches. They had eight sacks, less than 60 net yards rushing allowed to Colorado. But their offense didn't do them any favors because they gave the ball away four times.

So for me, this game is one and lost in the trenches. Can Nebraska run the ball and control the clock without giving up turnovers? And can their defensive line get to Chador before, you know, he gets the ball out to Travis Hunter? For Nebraska to win, they got to take Colorado into their world.

And here's the thing with Colorado, Jake. But everyone talked about, oh, they revamped the offensive line. They improved the offensive line. It's still a bad offensive line, even though you could say it got better from where they were a year ago. Just because you revamped something doesn't mean it's up to par to where an offensive line should be. And we kind of saw that on full display against North Dakota State.

It was like Chador, go run around and turn garbage into gold. Yeah, no, I'm not, I'm not sold on Colorado's trenches on, on really either side of the ball. I don't think that they have the ability to dominate games. And look, that Nebraska defensive front is feisty and Tony White loves to bring pressure from all different types of places. So again, like that's, that's the battle of this game. And it also makes, it's what makes Chador so special.

I mean, that guy can create something out of nothing. And when that ball leaves his hands, it goes to very tight windows. But they're going to have trouble blocking this blitz package of Tony White. And they'll need to give Chador time if they want to win this game thinking about Colorado. When I look at who's under the most pressure this week, right, everyone's going to talk about Coach Prime and Travis Hunter and Chador and Dylan Raiola. I say this as a Temple grad, someone that knows Matt Rule very well and had been around him.

This is a huge moment, I think, for Matt Rule because I went out to Lincoln last year when Michigan destroyed them. And this, this fan base, they show up all the time. They're a great fan base. They're dying for a winner once again.

They want to go to games, eat their runs, and actually see a winning product. This is a huge moment early on in the Matt Rule era in Lincoln. And hey, he's got to go find the way to win this game and should win this game on Saturday night. Yeah, it's for both teams. It's a huge game. And Colorado's kind of done it to themselves. You know, they spent the whole offseason telling everyone that every time they come to town, it's Super Bowl, right? Like they talked, Chador said he's going to pick the team he's drafted to next year, right? It's Deion Sanders. We know how he operates.

And that's cool. But what happens when you face adversity? What happens if you lose? Like the loser of this game is going, there will be a winner and a loser. The loser of this game is going to have some mental hurdles to overcome. Absolutely. And that's a thought that's planted in the psyche of these teams before they take the field.

So when adversity hits, which it will, how does each team respond? Jake Butt here with us. All right, let's get to Michigan. After game one, the offense did not look great. I think that's an understatement.

I talked to John Jansen about two weeks ago. I always thought it was going to be Alex Orgy starting and he said, no, he expects it to be Davis Warren. What did you make of the Michigan quarterback situation after one week? Well, I just don't think that they're going to win. I'm hesitant to be critical of Davis Warren as much as I am about the offensive line, because I understand the winning formula for Michigan starts up front.

And, you know, Davis Warren, he's a phenomenal story and a phenomenal kid. But I don't know that he has the raw talent to overcome things around him. So what that means is they got to be able to run the ball. They got to be able to get ahead of the sticks. They got to be able to impose fear into the opponent from their rushing attack. So then they can get into play action and open everything up. So to me, it all starts up front.

I actually didn't think he played terrible. I understand the interception, but that's the correct read. The guy was open. Frederick Moore. The ball needs to be up earlier.

It needs to be placed a little bit differently. And all of a sudden, you know, instead of having one interception, you know, he has 200 yards and a touchdown. So two touchdowns because he hit goals. So, you know, little minor details will decide this game this weekend. They don't have the room for error against Texas that they did against Fresno State. And, you know, everyone's going to pick against Michigan. Heck, the spread opened up at four.

It's now up to seven and a half. Is this a spot just with how college football is? Everyone thinks one team's going to win and Texas is going to blow out Michigan where this game. I'm not going to say Michigan's going to win, but it's a little bit closer than what people anticipate in week two. Well, I think what's important to remember is how Michigan's defense.

I'm just being honest with you. They have three first rounders right now. Will Johnson is a top 10 pick.

Mason Graham's a top 10 prick. I believe Kenneth Grant is a top 10 pick. And then the way Josiah Stewart, their edge played last week, if he plays like that all year, he's a fringe first rounder. And Jay Sean Barham, their linebacker, is a fringe first rounder. They might have five first round picks and maybe six guys go by day two of next year's draft. Hard to blow out teams when you're facing that level of defense, right?

Say what you want about everything else. It's going to be hard to move the ball against this Michigan defense. So that's the winning formula for Michigan, really. If Michigan wins, it'll be a low-scoring game led by their defensive play.

Jake Butt here with us. Let's get to Boise State up against Oregon. Oregon did not look great in week one going up against Idaho. They only won the game by 10 points. Boise's running back.

Ashen Gentie was unbelievable with six touchdowns and over 260 rushing yards. But I think something that wasn't really talked about in that one is the Boise State defense did not look good. This feels like, even though it's two good programs, a good favorable bounce back spot for the Ducks, even though they win, to just kind of show their offense is what people thought it was going to be heading into the season. Well, it really has to be. You know, and to me, this game is all about Oregon.

And I mean, Ashen Gentie is a freaking beast. It's going to be a different beast going up against this Oregon defense. I mean, they played really well, all things considered, against Idaho. But this game is about Oregon.

We spent all offseason. They were picked to win the national title by a number of analysts. You know, we talk about the most talented rosters in the Big Ten. It's them in Ohio State. They certainly didn't look like it week one. And I think what's the bad taste they should have in their mouth is they have a good offensive line. Not certainly not as bad as they played last week. They didn't even average three yards per carry. You got Dylan Gabriel throwing the ball 49 times.

At some point, you have to flex your muscles and impose your will. You're Oregon. You've recruited as well as anyone.

You have skill at every single position. To me, this starts up front. They have to be able to run the ball to keep Boise State off the field and control the game a little bit more than what they did last week. I don't like giving Penn State compliments.

But after week one, Jake, my oh my, a new offensive coordinator coming over from Kansas. They just dominated a good team in West Virginia. How authentic of a version do you think that was with what we saw from Penn State in week one?

It was nice just schematically like not to get too deep in the X's and O's. But last year, Penn State, there was nothing explosive about that offense. Like it was hard to breathe watching them. Everything happened within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. You know, Nicholas Singleton as a as a freshman, I think he led the country in runs of 40 plus yards. He's explosive.

There was none of that last year. So then they go out and hire Anthony Cottle-Nicky from Kansas. And what he specialized in is creating explosive offense through motion and personnel. Well, we saw that immediately week one versus West Virginia. All of a sudden, they're pushing the ball down the field. All of a sudden, there's space for Nicholas Singleton to break a tackle and cruise into the end zone for a long run.

That's the difference maker here. James Franklin's recruited really well. That that that roster is talented. They put guys into the NFL as well as anybody.

But they needed some like an orchestrator, which I think Cottle-Nicky is to kind of gel all this talent together. And I'll tell you this was looking to see who their wide receiver one was going to be Harrison Wallace. I think he could be really special this year. Let me get to USC. Lincoln Riley needed a win after what happened a year ago. They find a way to pull it out at the end with Miller Moss up against LSU. What do you think USC is capable of this year as they enter their first season in the Big Ten? There's no reason they can't be in that conversation of winning the conference this year. Not there was not a more impressive win than what USC did against LSU week one. And, you know, Lincoln Riley caught a ton of ton of flack this offseason.

And I just didn't understand it because what we know we can look back in time. Whoever is the quarterback for Lincoln Riley is inserted into that Heisman conversation. And Miller Moss has looked damn good here in his first two starts. But the question mark was what's the defense going to look like? Danton Lynn proved that he has that defense playing completely different than last year. One thing I never saw on tape was USC's front seven putting guys on their back. That's LSU and they have linebackers filling holes and defensive lineman winning with physicality. They looked like a Big Ten defense. And I think that's the most encouraging part because I know Lincoln Riley is going to be able to put up points on offense.

Let me get one last thought in here with Jake Butt. Ohio State, you know, the first four games of the season, they beat Akron. They have Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State. October picks up though in intensity with Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, and then early November with Penn State. We all know the big game at the end of the year. What do you feel about Ohio State this year? Is it championship or bus for them? So I'm calling their game this weekend. So I've watched their game versus Akron and I know some some are more critical than others. And certainly it wasn't a perfect game, but what can't be denied? That roster is freaking loaded, man.

They are absolutely have some thoroughbred horses outside. I mean, Jeremiah Smith, he'd be a first round pick next year. I'm just he looks like a copy of Marvin Harrison Jr. And he's a he's a true freshman. They got two backs, the best backfield in college football. We forget Emeka Buka is a first round pick when he's at his best. And he's now the wide receiver to like the defense is loaded in playing angry and they were able to force turnovers. And I get it.

It's Akron. But you can still see these subtle clues on tape that this team has progressed. One underrated piece of this Ryan Day was calling plays. He sacrificed his play, calling duty to Chip Kelly. That's a lot that allows him to zoom out a little bit. That's a lot that allows him to coach the whole team. Start to think about clock management situations going forward on fourth down. That showed up in that game against Akron and will continue to show up down the stretch of the season as good as they were last year.

I think they're even better this year. He's a great Big Ten Network analyst will be on the call for Ohio State against Western Michigan this Saturday on the Big Ten Network. He, of course, is Jake. But Jake appreciate, as always. Thank you. Anytime. Yep.

Take care. There you go. Great college football comprehensive breakdown of the Big Ten with Jake.

But how about that? USC in the mix in the mix to win the Big Ten championship. That was something.

A great breakdown on Riola. Also Ohio State, Penn State. And we'll see what happens with the Michigan quarterback situation this week up against Texas. We'll take a time out when we come on back in five minutes. AFC preview. 4.20 p.m. Eastern Time. NFC preview. And then at 4.40 p.m. Eastern Time, I give you my Super Bowl pick.